Author | Lightnews

Nikola Ilic

@datamozart.bsky.social

1.2K followers 250 following 510 posts

I'm making music from the data🎶 #PowerBI addict, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, O'Reilly Instructor, Pluralsight Author, blogger, speaker, learner...Father of 2, Barca and Messi fan⚽

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · Jul 25

A moment of disbelief!

A little more than a year ago, when I started writing a book about #MicrosoftFabric, I couldn't have imagined that the day would come when I would have a physical copy in my hands...

3 1 14

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 2d

Achievement unlocked!

2 years ago, when I started publishing articles on Substack, I never imagined that we could reach these heights together! As of today, we are a tribe of 2,000+ subscribed members!

Thank you to each and every one of you!

Subscribe: datamozart.substack.com

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 4d

Looks like I still know a thing or two about the analytics engineering in #MicrosoftFabric😉

Just renewed my DP-600 certificate for another year.

1 4

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 5d

Big news from @oreilly.bsky.social!

Join expert-led, live courses and get a 30% discount!

My "Getting started with #MicrosoftFabric" live course on December 1st is now $104 instead of $149!

Simply enter the Z5P1KDRU code and grab your seat now: www.oreilly.com/live/event-d...

1 1

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 7d

My favorite bronze-silver-gold "architecture"😉😉 Although the landing zone comes in the end in this scenario (it's my stomach)😂😂

Made this photo while hanging out with my friends Khaled Chowdhury and Siva Mani in Orlando.

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 8d

Some tricks never get old!

This morning, I was helping someone with optimizing the #PowerBI semantic model size. They have already exhausted most of the mainstream techniques for trimming the model, except for one hidden little gem!
Want to learn more?

datamozart.substack.com/p/hidden-lit...

Hidden little gem that can save your Power BI life!

Power BI is full of hidden gems! This one can literally make you a real Power BI hero out of nowhere!

datamozart.substack.com

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 13d

Tayra!

That's the name of the animal on @shbwatson.bsky.social and my "Analytics Engineering with #MicrosoftFabric and #PowerBI" book cover, which we are currently writing for @oreilly.bsky.social.

We've added another chapter to an early release of the book: learning.oreilly.com/library/view...

Analytics Engineering with Microsoft Fabric and Power BI

While Microsoft Power BI has dominated the business intelligence market for years and is a go-to tool for creating visually appealing, interactive reports and dashboards, it's now... - Selection from ...

learning.oreilly.com

3 5

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 13d

Another day full of learning, sharing, and simply enjoying the community vibe with friends at the #SummitNA.

Our "All roads lead to #MicrosoftFabric" panel talk was definitely a highlight of the day. Also, meeting in person a legend @powerbidude.bsky.social.

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 14d

BEST-SWAG-EVER!!!

This year, I had a privilege and honor of being a member of the programming committee for the Dynamic Communities Summit NA. And, as a token of appreciation, look what I got - yes, a bobble-head figure of me!!! Ok, perhaps more handsome than real me, but hey 😉😂

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 15d

NEW BLOG POST!

In this short post, you will learn how to quickly identify if your published Direct Lake model uses the OneLake or SQL option

data-mozart.com/direct-lake-...

#MicrosoftFabric #PowerBI

Direct Lake Models: Are They OneLake or SQL? (And How to Check!) - Data Mozart

Learn how to quickly identify if your published Direct Lake model uses OneLake or SQL option

data-mozart.com

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 20d

NEW BLOG POST!

Dataflows were (rightly?) considered "the slowest and least performant option" for ingesting data into #PowerBI #MicrosoftFabric. However, things are changing rapidly, and the latest DF enhancements may change the way we play the game.

data-mozart.com/from-dataslo...

From 'Dataslows' to Dataflows: The Gen2 Performance Revolution in Microsoft Fabric - Data Mozart

Dataflows were (rightly?) considered "the slowest and least performant option" for ingesting data into Power BI/Microsoft Fabric. However, things are changing rapidly and the latest Dataflow enhanceme...

data-mozart.com

1 2 8

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 23d

If you want to level up your Power BI game with Microsoft Fabric, I have great news for you: together with my good friend Augustin Dokoza Bukvic, I'll be running a full-day workshop at one of the coolest Power BI events - Power BI Gebruikersgroep, on March 5th, 2026 in Utrecht.

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 23d

"What should I do now?!"

That's the most common question we've been hearing from #PowerBI professionals since #MicrosoftFabric was introduced as an "end-to-end analytics platform" in November 2023.
Book your seat now: online.fliphtml5.com/PBIGevent/th...

Masterclass: Level Up your Power BI game with Microsoft Fabric

online.fliphtml5.com

1 1

Reposted by Nikola Ilic

Towards Data Science @towardsdatascience.com · 29d

Learn the complete lifecycle of streaming data within @Microsoft.com Fabric. @datamozart.bsky.social's new article teaches the end-to-end process.

Real-Time Intelligence in Microsoft Fabric: The Ultimate Guide | Towards Data Science

Once upon a time, handling streaming data was considered an avant-garde approach. Since the introduction of relational database management systems in the 1970s and traditional data warehousing…

towardsdatascience.com

1 2

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 29d

- when I say learn, I mean "Learn by doing", since I prepared 11 hands-on labs to get your hands dirty with Fabric.

Oh, yeah, and you'll get a FREE copy of the "Fundamentals of Microsoft Fabric" book, to use as a reference after the class.
aka.data-mozart.com/orlando

Academy - Community Summit North America

aka.data-mozart.com

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · 29d

4!

That's the number of seats remaining for my 2-day Academy Class about everything #MicrosoftFabric at Summit NA in less than two weeks in Orlando.

Registration closes this Friday, so this is your final chance to grab your spot and learn about all the Fabric components

1 1

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · Oct 5

My dear #MicrosoftFabric friends, if you fancy some (longer) Sunday reading, I have you covered!

My ultimate guide to Real-Time Intelligence in Fabric has just been published for @towardsdatascience.com.

towardsdatascience.com/real-time-in...

Real-Time Intelligence in Microsoft Fabric: The Ultimate Guide | Towards Data Science

Once upon a time, handling streaming data was considered an avant-garde approach. Since the introduction of relational database management systems in the 1970s and traditional data warehousing systems...

towardsdatascience.com

1 3

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · Oct 4

Happening this week!

If you want to raise your analytics game to a whole new level and get ready for the most popular #Microsoft data certificate ever (#DP600 #MicrosoftFabric Analytics Engineer), join me for a 2-day Bootcamp at @oreilly.bsky.social.

aka.data-mozart.com/dp600

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · Oct 3

NEW VIDEO ALERT!

Is your data loading process crawling? Are you spending hours refreshing massive amounts of data? This 10-minute tutorial is the streamlined solution you’ve been waiting for!

#MicrosoftFabric #notebook #lakehouse

youtu.be/_YpdCcww1yU

Fabric Data Engineering: Implementing Incremental Refresh in 10 Minutes!

YouTube video by Data Mozart

youtu.be

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · Sep 25

Had a great time presenting this evening for the Vancouver Fabric UG my brand new session about crafting medallion the right way (if there is a single right way at all?).

Amazing conversation in the chat, and many great questions from the audience.

Thanks everyone!

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · Sep 25

Oh, I thought you are an AI-course master;) I mean, uhm, thanks😊

1 1

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · Sep 25

📢NEW COURSE ALERT📢

I'm beyond excited to announce that my 22nd course at @pluralsight.bsky.social has just been released!

I'm taking you on a journey of modifying data with T-SQL in a safe and efficient way.

pluralsight.com/library/cour...

Modify Data with T-SQL

pluralsight.com

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · Sep 23

Getting ready for the prestigious #DP600 (#MicrosoftFabric Analytics Engineer) exam?

On October 8th and 9th, I'll be running a 2-day of 4 hours "DP-600 Bootcamp" at @oreilly.bsky.social.

learning.oreilly.com/live-events/...

Microsoft Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate Bootcamp (DP-600)

Learn in-demand skills and become a certified Fabric Analytics Engineer

learning.oreilly.com

1 1

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · Sep 22

"Do I need a landing zone?" "Should my silver layer be modeled as a 3rd NF tables, or just as a 'cleansed' version of the source data?" These are some of the questions we will address this Thursday at the Vancouver Fabric UG meetup.

Join for free: www.meetup.com/vancouver-fa...

Chief Data Alchemist Playbook - Crafting Medallion Architecture the Right Way!, Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 10:00 AM | Meetup

For hundreds of years, alchemists tried to figure out how to turn ordinary metals into gold. The modern version of alchemists, let's call them Data Alchemists, try to turn

www.meetup.com

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · Sep 21

Who wouldn't like an office like this?!

#PowerBI turned 10 a couple of weeks ago. And here is to the anniversary of the product that changed many lives (including mine) for the better. Power BI and Lego in synergy - could it be more amazing?

1 2

Nikola Ilic @datamozart.bsky.social · Sep 18

2nd European #FabCon is a wrap!

It was an intensive and entertaining week, full of learning and networking.

Thanks everyone from Microsoft who made it happen - I don’t want to point out individuals, because it was a team effort.

Till next year...

Auf wiedersehen Vienna, hola Barcelona!